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BETHLEHEM, PA—Companies in professional, scientific, and technical services hired the most new college engineering graduates in 2012, according to a new report by the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE).

NACE’s January 2013 Salary Survey found that these employers—who hired for a variety of engineering and software development positions—paid their new engineering hires salaries that averaged $61,945. (See Figure 1.)

“The demand for engineering graduates remains strong, and that is reflected in the high starting salaries paid to these graduates,” says Marilyn Mackes, NACE executive director.

Following professional, scientific, and technical services firms were manufacturing employers and government agencies, whose average salaries to new engineering graduates were $61,146 and $66,812, respectively.

Manufacturing organizations hired new engineering graduates for a variety of engineering and management positions; government agencies hired them for various engineering jobs.

Also among the top employers for 2012 engineering graduates were those in educational services ($58,733), who hired engineering graduates primarily for postsecondary teaching positions, and information ($67,533), who mostly hired these graduates for jobs as computer programmers.

NACE’s first report on starting salaries for Class of 2013 college graduates will be available in the April 2013 issue of Salary Survey.

About Salary Survey

Salary Survey reports starting salaries for new college graduates in more than 90 disciplines at the bachelor’s-degree level. Data contained in the report are reported by employers, represent accepted starting salaries (not salary offers), and are produced through a compilation of data derived from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, the U.S. Census Bureau, and a master set of data developed by Job Search Intelligence. Data for the January 2013 report were retrieved in November 2012, and reflect the final results for the Class of 2012. Salary Survey is published in January, April, and September.

About NACE

Since 1956, the National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has been the leading source of information about the employment of college graduates. For more information, visit www.naceweb.org. NACE maintains a virtual press room for the media at www.naceweb.org/pressreleases/.